Aubrey Huff is finally doing for the Giants what he didn't do for the '09 Tigers

Nobody ever said life, or baseball, was fair. There were a dozen reasons why the Tigers fell one win short of the postseason last year. But, no matter how you broke it down, the dismal, disappointing performance of Aubrey Huff had to rank near the top of the list: Forty games, just 20 hits, two homers, 13 RBI, and a .189 average. No other Tiger played so much and contributed so little down the stretch last year. But look at him now. Talk about rubbing salt in an old wound. Unceremoniously released by the Tigers who acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles in mid-August, Huff, who made $8 million last year, thought he had reached the end of the line last January. Then the phone rang. It was the San Francisco Giants. The Giants were only offering $3 million -- but that was $3 million more than Huff's next, best offer. After watching how little Huff did for the Tigers late last season, when one big hit would have been enough to put them into the playoffs, I couldn't believe he got that much. Now, incredibly, the 33-year-old Huff, who has played more than 1,440 games without ever once appearing in the postseason, and who had earned a reputation as a player whose commitment didn't always equal his ability, leads the Giants in just about every significant offensive category with 21 HRs, 70 RBIs, 128 hits, 76 runs, 64 walks, and 120 games played. At last check, he was batting .295. "I never really realized how the big leagues were supposed to be until I got here," Huff recently told ESPN.com. It was nice knowing you, too, Aubrey. And if that isn't reason enough to root against the Giants, shortstop Edgar Renteria -- remember him? -- is batting .278 in San Francisco.

About Me

Jim Hawkins began covering the Tigers as a baseball beat writer in 1970. Has chronicled the exploits of the Tigers from the days of Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Denny McLain, Billy Martin, and Mark ("The Bird") Fidrych to Jim Leyland, Magglio Ordonez, Justin Verlander, Curtis Granderson and Joel Zumaya.